A story of family, friendship, and art--and the past thirty years. The Biographies of Ordinary People is the story of the Gruber family: Rosemary and Jack, and their daughters Meredith, Natalie, and Jackie. The two-volume series begins in July 1989, on Rosemary's thirty-fifth birthday; it ends in November 2016, on Meredith's thirty-fifth birthday. Written for fans of Betsy-Tacy, Little Women, or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the story is an episodic, ensemble narrative that takes us into intimately familiar experiences: putting on a play, falling out with a best friend, getting dial-up internet for the first time. Drinking sparkling wine out of a paper cup on December 31, 1999 and wondering what will happen next. At the heart of the story is Meredith Gruber, the oldest Gruber sister and the one determined to figure out how "ordinary people" should live--because all the biographies she's ever read are about famous people. She wants to write and act, and her younger sister Jackie wants to sing opera, and the two of them pursue their goals with both ambition and limitations.

The Biographies of Ordinary People: Volume 1: 1989-2000

Literature & Fiction

Dieker, Nicole

Literary

Nicole Dieker

The Biographies of Ordinary People is the story of the Gruber family: Rosemary and Jack, and their daughters Meredith, Natalie, and Jackie. The two-volume series begins in July 1989, on Rosemary's thirty-fifth birthday; it ends in November 2016, on Meredith's thirty-fifth birthday. The second volume follows the three Gruber sisters as they each leave their rural Midwestern hometown and try to make their way in the larger world. Meredith is determined to pursue a career in the theater. Natalie begins sorting and filing for an insurance company. Jackie... well, Jackie still wants to sing, and if the classical music world isn't interested in what she can do, she'll figure out how to do it on her own. Set against the Great Recession, Presidents Obama and Trump, and a growing sense of national unrest, this final volume explores Meredith's question: is it possible for ordinary people to make art? It also takes us into the close emotional connections between mothers and daughters, sisters and friends, and the people we choose to love as adults.

The Biographies of Ordinary People: Volume 2: 2004-2016

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Books by Nicole Dieker

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Nicole Dieker publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Biographies of Ordinary People: Volume 1: 1989-2000

The Biographies of Ordinary People: Volume 2: 2004-2016